Flip Flops

Quilting Possibilities

Thursday, December 31, 2009

As I was working on the shop hop sample the other morning, I decided that I really need to bring home new pins. The ones I have in my pincushion, well let's just say they're a ragtag assortment that have seen better days. Then I spent more than a few minutes trying to find my seam ripper, I still haven't found it. That made me look around at my sewing supplies and I discovered that I really have a ragtag assortment of everything. I need new rotary blades, in all three rotary cutters, my cutting mat is probably why I need new blades & one of my rulers is missing half it's lines.

Since I own a quilt shop, working with sub-par supplies is ridiculous and can be directly related to a few things - one I'm cheap, two I forget to bring the stuff home and three, I'm like practically every other sewer out there, I'd rather spend the money on fabric.

Mentally lecturing myself that good basic supplies is not a luxury but a necessity to the ease of the sewing process, I wondered just how much it would cost to restock the basics. $20? $50? $75? $100?

Pins $5.50 - I like the glass head pins since they're easier to grab & these have a good sized ball on the head - not too large but not too small for these no longer quite nimble fingers. Plus, these are very find & I can sew over them if I have to. Yes, I know, I know, you're not supposed to sew over pins but sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

A new rotary mat - $45. I have a large cutting surface so I like the large Olfa or Omnigid mats. They last the longest.

Seam Ripper $4.25. This is my absolute favorite seam ripper! There are cheaper ones, but none better. It has a sharp point that's not too fat and a handle that is easy to grip and won't roll off your sewing table.

New blades - $8. I admit I buy the 5 pack at $32. It drives me crazy to not have a new one on hand & have those evenly spaced little threads still attached after every cut. With three rotary cutters all doing that, you would think I'd have brought home a new pack!

Ruler - $12.99 - I like the Cut For A Cure rulers and the 7x14" is one of my favorites. The pink and green lines are a little freaky until you put the ruler onto fabric & you can actually see the lines! I also like that they read left to right & right to left.

I need a small pair of scissors too. Mine have disapeared & I think they followed the same path as the last pair - somehow they fell into the trash unnoticed and took that one way road to the dump. We have pretty floral ones for $4.99.

So how much do I have to spend to make my sewing life easier? $80.73 + tax, $106.73 if I go hole hog & get the 5 pack of blades. I sew about 8 hours a week x 52 weeks a year = 416 hours per year. (I'm sure it's more than that but we'll go with the average.) $106.72 divided by 416 = .26 cents.

I'm worth .26 cents. My New Year's Resolution is to bring all this stuff home today so I can celebrate the New Year's Day sewing & enjoy every minute of it!